Officially left Cyprus yesterday, and am just so full from such a sweet month. Looking back through our notes from what we prayed into and had revealed to us before Cyprus, I’m just in awe of how much came to be in some way, shape, or form. God is truly so amazing!! The verse that one of my team members shared with us before we took off for Limassol was 1 Peter 4:7-1, and it completely applied to our whole month of ministry. God also stirred the ideas of mountains, rain, chaos, vulnerability, orange trees, relationship, and restoration and much more in us, that ended up truly marking and shaping our daily life in Cyprus.
A Little Context:
Cyprus was our “manistry” and “womanistry” month, so the guys and girls split up for most of it, and our guys went to Turkey. Being on the only co-ed team, our girls joined up with another team and we called ourselves Double Portions for the month. In this way, we essentially had a new team and new team leader.
The first week of our time in Cyprus we were joined by another team so we had a total of 17 girls in the house. Then we spent a week as Double Portions with our 11 girls which was capped off with such a powerful weekend where all 30 girls from our squad were able to come together. The following week as the other teams left, we were joined up with the guys’ teams and went to 18 people in the house. Yes, there was much shuffling of beds and planning of meals ;D
A Typical Day:
However, even with all of this transition, beautiful patterns started to from and be created. Typically everyone in the house came together around 9ish from reading, running, or just drinking coffee to travel into town to help one of our local ministry contacts. Our host and his family were simply incredible, and he gladly got us plugged in with a refugee charity that needed help moving into a new building, a Christian soccer camp that wanted volunteer coaches, Wellspring a local boutique that supports human trafficking victims, and with his own broadcasting ministry that transmits the gospel message to the Yemeneese people. Written out it may just seem like a list of names and places, but for me I will forever see the faces and the stories of so many people who are generously pouring into the lives of others in these spaces. It was an honor and a privilege to partner with them and help in whatever capacity they needed.
These opportunities generally took up much of the day and sometimes included family-style lunches and long conversations, but there was generally time for a quick run to the bakery in the late afternoon. In Cyprus our host had 2 vehicles available for us to borrow, and I was one of a few who learned how to drive stick-shift on the left-hand side of the road. Thus, piling into the truck with as many as we could fit to explore the city of Limassol and stop at one of the cities unique treats (24 hour bakeries) became a sweet tradition.
The evenings were generally full of team time. We would make community meals for dinner and pending the crowd, mind you up to 30 people, we would just get together a large kitchen crew, crank the music, and share in conversation while dicing a million different vegetables. We put together 3 tables and with plates in hand were able to spend every night doing a family dinner. It is truly hard to describe how much life gets shared and spilled out when 30 believers come together to talk about the day and all the ways that God is moving. Some highlights were worship, creating our squad sorority, dance parties, poetry slam night, fish bowl nights, movies, 2 different B-Day celebrations, cutthroat mafia, hiking, one giant game of capture the flag, and our Halloween party.
Overall, looking back and being at the house with limited car space, a lot of our ministry centered around loving women (each other) well, which was something we felt God revealing to us before we started our time in Cyprus. This is where the 1 Peter verse was so applicable; we learned to generously host, use our gifts to serve others, and speak words of truth, all so that God could be praised and glorified.
For me, coming into the month was very challenging just moving from a very eastern culture into a more westernized culture that had new comforts and presented a lot of old struggles from the states. I remember sharing in the beginning how it just felt “too” normal, being in a home that had wifi, having a car to drive, and a bed to call my own. But the Lord so graciously started teaching me and guiding me in what it looks like to seek His face in a “more normal” context with my family, with my mornings, with my freedoms, and with my time. A big growth point for me and something the Lord sealed in me was listening to His voice and following His instruction in spite of what others may think. He shares such intimate and fatherly love for His kids and meets us exactly where we are at. For me, this has truly been in the realm of asking and praying for healing. The Lord has been softening my heart and healing old woundings in this area, and I got to be apart of praying for my teammate and watching the Lord heal her foot!
I would love prayer right now for me and my team as we are currently in a more closed country and genuinely asking the Lord for direction over our time and connections. I’m brushing up again on my basic Arabic so prayers for a mind that just absorbs learning would be so appreciated. Many prayers for my squad’s fundraising as well. Our fundraising deadline to be fully funded for this year of ministry is November 30th. I am asking for financial partners to sponsor me for $11.00, basically representing a dollar a month for our 11 months of ministry abroad. I am about 80% funded and just so thankful for your prayers and support!!
Thank you again for reading and for all of your encouragement! Please feel free to comment and share and reach out if you need prayer for anything. This blog is just a great tool to stay in touch.
Blessings,
Bre
